#Flash* KLCI falls further, dn 27 pts

KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips fell sharply in late trade on Thursday, Sept 22, falling more than 27 points, the most in several weeks, in line with the selldown in regional and European markets.

At 4.15pm, the FBM KLCI fell 27.54 points to 1,391.5. Turnover was 703.37 million shares valued at 1.32 billion.'' Losers hammered gainers 798 to 59.

Technical chartists said the next strong support level for the KLCI was 1,360.

In Hong Kong, shares tumbled, dragged lower by mainland energy and property counters as investors reacted to different policy signals from Beijing and as turnover surged to the highest in more than three weeks.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 4.85% at 17,911.95, while the China Enterprises Index closed down 6.31% at 9,202.7.

The Shanghai Composite Index slumped 2.78% to 2,443.06, weighed by large-cap energy issues as A-share turnover declined from Wednesday's high but hit the second-highest in a month.

At Bursa Malaysia, Nestle was the top loser, down RM1 to RM48.50 and Dutch Lady'' 50 sen to RM19.

HL Bank lost 61 sen to RM9.99, HLBank-OR shed 58 sen to RM1.37, Genting 48 sen to RM8.82 and Aeon 38 sen to RM6.90.

European shares slump on Fed's grim growth outlook

LONDON: European shares fell sharply on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve's warning of significant risks to the already struggling economy and on data showing a further contraction in China's manufacturing sector.

At 0706 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 2.5 percent at 895.32 points after sliding 1.7 percent in the previous session. The index is down 20 percent this year on euro zone debt concerns and worries about global economic growth.

"Apart from the political uncertainty, we have got a major macroeconomic slowdown and that is putting a lot of pressure on the markets. China has been one of those regions where growth was still fairly strong. Now if we were to see a problem, that would not be good for global equities," Klaus Wiener, chief economist at Generali Investments, said.

"But I would be surprised to see markets moving into a panic mode as fundamentally the situation is, by no means, comparable to what we had in 2008. There is some strain on the interbank market, but credit availability is still there and that should help."

Miners came under severe pressure, with key base metals prices falling 1.4 to 3.4 percent on worries about demand for industrial metals. The European mining sector index fell 4.8 percent. ' Reuters

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EON Capital declares tax-exempt final special dividend of 2.45 sen

KUALA LUMPUR: EON CAPITAL BHD [] shareholders are set to receive a tax-exempt final special dividend of 2.45 sen per share, in addition to the capital repayment of RM2.60 per share to be made on Sept 23.

However, the payment of the final special dividend to shareholders on the register as at Sept 15, 2011 would be at a later date.

In a statement Thursday, Sept 22, EON Capital executive chairman Datuk Gooi Hoe Soon said the company's board of directors had been steadfast in its commitment to ensure that its shareholders received the very best return out of their investment in the company and were paid expediently.

'Despite the long, protracted corporate exercise, the strong EON Capital team diligently maintained its professionalism and placed the interests of shareholders above all else,' he said.

EON Capital had in May this year completed the disposal of its entire assets and liabilities including EON Bank Group to HONG LEONG BANK BHD [].

At the company's EGM on Sept 22, shareholders approved to reduce the number of its directors from a minimum of 5 directors to two directors.

The two directors that shall remain are Gooi and executive director Nicholas John Lough who would oversee the completion of the final special dividend to shareholders.

All other directors will resign effective Oct 1, 2011.

Approval from ECB's shareholders was also sought for proposed directors' fees of RM687,000 and ex-gratia payments of RM1.125 million.

All resolutions were passed.

Gooi said the board had proposed ex-gratia payments to seven existing directors in recognition of their contributions to the company.

Trading of EON Capital share on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia had been suspended since Sept 9, 2011.

Pending Bursa Malaysia's confirmation, EON Capital would be delisted on Sept 26, 2011, the next market day after the completion of the capital repayment that shall be made on Sept 23, 2011.

KLCI hits fresh one-year low

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI fell 1.29% at the mid-day break on Thursday, Sept to its lowest level since Aug 26, 2010, in line with key regional markets that were pummeled following the US Federal Reserve's assessment that that the United States faced a grim economic outlook with "significant downside risks".

The regional sentiment was also further dampened by China's manufacturing sector contracting for a third consecutive month in September while a measure of inflation picked up, suggesting the world's No. 2 economy may not be able to provide much of a counterweight to flagging US and European growth, according to Reuters.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark FBM KLCI fell 18.37 points to 1,400.67, weighed by losses including at Genting, Petronas Chemicals and other key blue chips.

The index had earlier fallen to its intra-morning as well as 52-week low of 1,399.37.

Losers thumped gainers by 635 to 67, while 164 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 390.60 million shares valued at RM727.28 million.

The ringgit fell 0.75% to 3.1482 versus the US dollar; crude palm oil lost RM40 per tonne to RM3,026, crude oil down US$1.44 per barrel to US$84.48 while gold lost US$3.63 an ounce to US$1,778.72.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 4.08% to 18,055.31, South Korea's Kospi fell 3.42% to 1,790.88, Taiwan's Taiex lost 2.95% to 7,313.94, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 2.07% to 8,559.92, Singapore's Straits Times Index down 1.77% to 2,742.32 while the Shanghai Composite Index shed 1.74% to 2,469.36.

Among the major losers on Bursa Malaysia, Petronas Dagangan fell 42 sen to RM16.50, Genting lost 39 sen to RM8.91, Hong Leong Bank 44 sen to RM10.16, HLFG 32 sen to RM10.90, Petronas Chemicals 23 sen to RM5.58, while Dutch Lady and Nestle lost 50 sen each to RM19 and RM49.

Petronas Chemicals was also the most actively traded counter with 16.88 million shares done.

Other actives included AirAsia, Axiata, Tiger, UEM Land, MRCB, Genting and E&O.

Gainers included Aeon Credit, Kawan Food, Ewein, Century Logistics, OSK PROPERTIES [], Nadayu and Aik Bee.

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Ireka expands property development portfolio

KUALA LUMPUR: IREKA CORPORATION BHD [] has acquired parcels of land in Kajang and Nilai measuring a total of 48.4 acres for RM47.2 million to build houses and mixed-use industrial PROPERTIES [] with a gross development value (GDV) of RM700 million.

Its group managing director Lai Siew Wah said on Thursday, Sept 22 that the 27.8 acre land in Nilai worth RM24.8 was earmarked for a housing project worth RM260 million in GDV.

Meanwhile, the 20.6 acres in Kajang worth RM22.4 million has been earmarked for the purpose of mixed-use industrial development and has a GDV of RM250 million for the land in Bukit Angkat and RM180 million for the land set to be developed in the centre of Kajang.

Lai said the company remained optimistic of the prospect of Malaysia's real estate market in general.

"We see strong growth opportunities in certain sectors like modern industrial parks and the mid-market residential and commercial, where Ireka can leverage on its current development expertise of providing unique and innovative products" he said.

Lai said the projects would commence next year with expected earnings to come in after 2013.

Ireka's order book as at end of Aug 2011 stood at RM1.2 billion of which RM370 million remains outstanding, he said.

Ireka's total land bank is 65 acres including the newly acquired lands in Kajang and Nilai.

Lai said the company had not worked out the total value as it plans to phase out a few of the lands.

Swee Joo to be delisted on Monday

KUALA LUMPUR: SWEE JOO BHD [] will be delisted with effect from 9am on Monday, Sept 26.

The company said on Thursday, Sept 22 that it was informed of Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd's decision on Wednesday.

It said it was advised by Bursa Malaysia that this action was in pursuant to paragraph 16.11(2)(C) of the Main Market Listing Requirement.

Trading in the shares was suspended since July 19.

Eversendai subsidiaries secure RM371m contracts

KUALA LUMPUR: Eversendai Corporation Bhd' subsidiaries have secured''RM371 million contracts for projects in India and Middle East.

The company said on Thursday, Sept 22 that Eversendai CONSTRUCTION [] Pte Ltd was appointed as major sub-contractor to Samsung C&T Pvt Ltd for the shell and core works related to the Worli mixed use development in Mumbai, India.

Eversendai said the scope of works includes the reinforced concrete works for the sub-structure and superstructure with a contract value of RM272.35 million.

It said another subsidiary, Eversendai Engineering Qatar WLL was appointed a sub-contractor to Consolidated Contractors Group S.A.L. (Offshore) (CCC) / Teyseer Contracting Company WLL for the structural steel works at the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) Project in Doha, Qatar.

EV Qatar's scope of works includes the overall structural steel works with a contract value of RM39.43 million.

It added that Eversendai Engineering LLC of Duba was appointed sub-contractor to Larsen & Toubro Ltd for the structural steel works at the Salalah Airport expansion project in Oman.

EV Dubai's scope of works includes the overall structural steel works with a contract value of RM58.72 million.

'The contract is expected to contribute positively to the earnings of Eversendai group for the financial years ending Dec 31, 2012 and future years,' it said.

Hong Leong Asset Management aims RM4b total AUM by year-end

KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Leong Asset Management expects its total assets under management (AUM)) to grow to some RM4 billion by end of this year.

Its CEO Geoffrey Ng said the company, already with some RM3 billion under its banner, planned to launch at least two more funds to grow its AUM.

'We have a few funds in the pipeline.' Ng said at the launch of the Hong Leong Hong Kong Equity Optimiser Fund here on Thursday, Sept 22.

Hong Leong Asset Management had 33 unit trusts funds under its management as at June 30 this year.

China HSBC Flash PMI falls to 49.4 in Sept

BEIJING: HSBC's China Flash PMI showed the Chinese factory sector contracted for a third consecutive month in September as both new orders and new export orders fell on slack global demand.

The flash Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), designed to preview China's factory output before official data, was 49.4 in September, down from August's final reading of 49.9 and hovering below the 50-point mark for the third straight month.

Still, HSBC believes a PMI reading of as low as 48 in China still points to annual growth of 12-13 percent in industrial output and 9 percent expansion in gross domestic product, even if it indicates a contraction in factory activity on the month.

"Fears of a hard landing are unwarranted. External demand weakened a little, but official trade data still show solid export growth," said Qu Hongbin, China economist at HSBC.

"Resilient domestic demand is sufficient to support around 8.5-9 percent growth in the coming quarters," he said.

Both new orders and new export orders sub-indices fell further below the 50-point mark in September, reflecting weaker global demand. Other sub-indices that missed the 50-point mark include those for output, stocks of purchases and employment.

Factory price pressures, on the other hand, picked up in September, indicating Chinese policymakers still face difficult challenges to bring inflation under control.

Annual consumer inflation eased to 6.2 percent in August from a three-year high, while economic activity slowed, underlining expectations that the central bank may hold off on further policy tightening amid fears of a global slowdown.

The input price sub-index rose to 58.8 in September -- the highest in four months.

The flash PMI, compiled by British research firm Markit, is based on up to 90 percent of total responses to a monthly survey and is designed to be a snapshot of HSBC's final PMI.

This is the eighth month that HSBC has published a flash PMI for China. In August, the flash reading was 49.8, compared with the final reading of 49.9. ' Reuters

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KLCI down 1% at mid-morning

KUALA LUMPUR: A confluence of bad news drove the FBM KLCI back into negative territory on Thursday, Sept 22, in line with the slump at regional markets following the steep overnight fall at Wall Street.

Asian stocks fell as investors took fright at a warning from the Federal Reserve that the United States faced a grim economic outlook with "significant downside risks", according to Reuters.

Investors were further spooked after the International Monetary Fund lowered the 2011 and 2012 global real GDP growth forecasts to 4% from the previous forecasts of 4.3% and 4.5% made in July 2011.

With no real domestic catalyst in sight, the FBM KLCI fell 14.12 points to 1,404.92 at mid-morning, weighed by losses at key blue chips.

Losers thumped gainers by 330 to 52, while 133 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 111.35 million shares valued at RM185.88 million.

At the regional markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.63% to 8,598.32, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 2.99% to 18,262.01, the Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.65% to 2,496.52, Taiwan's Taiex fell 2.39% to 7,355.67, South Korea's Kospi lost 2.36% to 1,810.53 and Singapore's Straits Times Index was down 1.30% to 2,755.40.

BIMB Securities Research in a note Sept 22 said it was another classic case of investors expecting too much too soon.

Though the Feds announcements of Operation Twist was just what investors had expected, most were disappointed with the absence of 'extra' pleasant surprises, it said.

'In addition, investors mood were made even more moody when Moody's downgraded Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Bank of America,' it said.

As such, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was dumped by 284 points, it said.

'Today, we anticipate performance of the regional markets to be affected by the decline in the US and we expect the same for local bourse as well.

'Though we saw some buying support at the 1,400 level, we remain sceptical that this could hold for any longer. Once the 1,400 is broken, the next support level is seen at 1,380,' it said.

Meanwhile, Affin Investment Bank Bhd in a strategy note Sept 22 said that with the rise in risk aversion, a defensive investment strategy is only prudent.

The research house it favoured value stocks with good balance sheets, strong cash flows and high dividend yields.

'Our preferred sectors (those with better earnings visibility and less vulnerable to pricing pressure) are consumer staple, gaming, rubber gloves and domestic demand driven companies like CONSTRUCTION [] and oil and gas.

'We are negative on highly cyclical sectors such as full service airlines, shipping and export-oriented manufacturers (namely TECHNOLOGY [] companies),' it said.

Among the losers, the Hong Leong Bank rights entitlement issue that started trading today fell 41 sen to RM1.54 while Hong Leong Bank shares fell 30 sen to RM10.30.

Petronas Dagangan lost 38 sen to RM16.54, Nestle 30 sen to RM49.20, Genting 28 sen to RM9.02, Boustead and Petronas Chemicals 15 sen each to RM4.94 and RM5.66, while IJM Corp fell 14 sen to RM5.05.

Petronas Chemicals was also the most actively traded counter with 5.37 million shares done.

Other actives included Dutaland, Kurnia Asia, AirAsia, MRCB, UEM Land, Jotech and Timecom.

Meanwhile, gainers included Aeon Credit, Kretam, Samudra, Can-One, Yee Lee, and Luxchem.